USPTO Unveils Patent Fee Hikes Set To Take Effect In January

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday released a final rule that will increase many patent-related fees on Jan. 19, recalibrating some proposed hikes that had drawn criticism from attorneys and industry groups while leaving others intact.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pa. Jury Finds Clothing Co. Infringed Penn State Trademarks

By Matthew Santoni

Online retailer Vintage Brand infringed Pennsylvania State University's trademarks by selling unlicensed merchandise with "historic" images associated with the university, a Keystone State federal jury has found.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Keep Your Briefs Brief, LA Federal Judges Tell IP Lawyers

By Rachel Scharf

A group of Los Angeles federal judges urged local intellectual property lawyers during a courthouse panel Wednesday to keep their briefs succinct and not repeat the same points verbatim during oral arguments.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google Beats EcoFactor Patent Case Over Nest

By Andrew Karpan

Google has persuaded a California federal court to nip in the bud one of the newer patent lawsuits targeting its Nest smart home brand, winning a ruling that found an air conditioner capable of "calculating and comparing thermal efficiency" wasn't enough for a patent.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

RJ Reynolds Loses Early Exclusion Bid In ITC Vape IP Case

By Adam Lidgett

A U.S. International Trade Commission judge has refused for now to block imports of certain vape products during an investigation into R.J. Reynolds' allegations that a variety of companies were infringing an electronic smoking patent.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Keeps Emails Redacted In Apple Foe's FOIA Row

By Andrew Karpan

The patent office convinced a D.C. federal judge Wednesday to keep in place redacted portions of six emails detailing the agency's response to a Freedom of Information Act request from a longtime legal foe of Apple Inc. that is suing the agency to find out more about administrative decisions that wiped out a $533 million jury verdict.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'Ambush' At Patent Trial Led To $22M Loss, ASUS Says

By Rae Ann Varona

Taiwanese computer company ASUSTeK and the California owner of patents it infringed lambasted each other in post-trial motions filed in Texas federal court, with ASUS seeking to vacate a $22 million verdict due to the patentee's "ambush" tactics, and the patentee wanting its award doubled for ASUS' "pirate-like behavior."

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Musk, Ramaswamy Say High Court Rulings OK Federal Cuts

By Lauren Berg

Billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, President-elect Donald Trump's picks to lead a newly created "Department of Government Efficiency," on Wednesday said two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings will give them the authority to cut off power to regulatory agencies and conduct massive federal layoffs.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Citing Fintiv, PTAB Rejects Samsung's Challenge To Patent

By Adam Lidgett

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has shot down Samsung's challenge to a Pictiva Displays patent covering technology used in features like smartphone flashlights, citing parallel district court litigation over the same patent.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Microsoft Defeats Eye Contact Feature Patent At PTAB

By Adam Lidgett

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has invalidated claims in a RealD Spark patent it alleged were infringed by Microsoft's eye-contact feature, the latest decision in a broader legal battle.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Apple Tapped With Patent Suit Over IMessage 'Tapbacks'

By Andrew Karpan

A lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York accuses Apple of infringing two patents through some of the newer features of its iMessage app that allow people to react and respond to particular texts.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ohio Mortgage Co. Gets Rival To Change Name In TM Fight

By Hayley Fowler

A Michigan mortgage company has agreed to change its name to end a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by a rival business in Ohio that claimed it was fielding complaints from confused customers over allegedly questionable telemarketing practices.

Settlement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Nike Accused Of 'Smear Campaign' Over $60M Trademark Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Los Angeles-based company that made customized sneakers for celebrities and athletes hit back Tuesday at Nike's $60 million trademark suit, saying that despite the companies' previous collaborations, Nike is now making knowing false claims in a "smear campaign" to crush its business.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Atty Seeks Ruling Letting Him Sell Unlicensed NFL Merchandise

By Elaine Briseño

A man representing himself pro se has argued in a New York federal complaint that he should be allowed to sell unlicensed National Football League merchandise that features team designs and logos, because his use is "functional" and allowed without a license.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

5 Charged For 'Scattered Spider' Phishing Hacks, Crypto Theft

By Rachel Scharf

California federal prosecutors unveiled a criminal case Wednesday accusing five alleged members of the "Scattered Spider" cybercrime group of using a phishing scheme to access the confidential data of media and technology companies and steal $11 million worth of cryptocurrency from digital wallets.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Attys Slam Deceptive NIL Settlement Services In NCAA Case

By Elaine Briseño

Class counsel in the massive NCAA name, image and likeness lawsuit have asked a California federal court to intervene with third-party servicing companies that are using misleading information while offering claims-filing services to class members in order to profit from the proposed $2.78 billion settlement.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Weil Litigation Leaders Jump To Paul Weiss In NY

By Tracey Read

The co-chair of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's global litigation department and the co-head of Weil's patent litigation practice will soon be joining Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York, the latter firm announced Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Atty From Telecom Biz Joins IP Firm Panitch Schwarze

By Rose Krebs

Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP has hired an attorney with extensive in-house experience in the tech industry to help enhance the intellectual property services it offers to its clients.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

How AstraZeneca Ruling Could Change Dosage Patent Claims

If affirmed on appeal, the rationale employed by the Delaware federal court in Wyeth v. AstraZeneca to find "unit dosage"-related patent claims invalid could lead to a significant paradigm shift in how active-ingredient-focused patent applications are drafted and litigated, say Matthew Zapadka and John Schneible at Arnall Golden.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

BigLaw Begins Matching Milbank On Associate Bonuses

By Aebra Coe

Following the news Tuesday that Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP will pay associates year-end and special bonuses in line with those handed out by Milbank LLP this year, the firms' peers have begun to respond, with swift matches Wednesday by Paul Hastings LLP and McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Settles With Atty Who Reported Judge's Sexual Misconduct

By Lauren Berg

A former Alaska federal prosecutor who made allegations of sexual misconduct against then-U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred has reached an undisclosed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice resolving claims she suffered retaliation for speaking up, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Foley Shouldn't Face Data Breach Claims, Calif. Panel Says

By Dorothy Atkins

A California appellate panel affirmed the dismissal of Accellion Inc.'s cross-complaint against law firm Foley & Lardner LLP in an insurance company's lawsuit claiming the software-maker should be held liable for a $1 million ransomware attack that targeted the law firm, finding that Accellion's cross-claims are untimely.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Akerman Opens In Charlotte With 2 Moore & Van Allen Hires

By Xiumei Dong

Akerman LLP announced Wednesday the firm opened its second North Carolina office in Charlotte and brought on two new partners from Moore & Van Allen PLLC, including the former head of its renewable energy project finance team and a tax law expert.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judiciary Touts Reforms In Handling Workplace Complaints

By Ryan Boysen

The federal judiciary is successfully reforming the controversial process that aims to protect its 30,000 employees from sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a new internal report released Wednesday, even as lawmakers have called for scrapping that process altogether and replacing it with a new one.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Wants 'Immediate Dismissal' Of NY Hush Money Case

By Frank G. Runyeon

President-elect Donald Trump's legal team told the New York judge who presided over his hush money trial that his conviction should be thrown out due to his "overwhelming victory" at the polls, according to a filing released Wednesday.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

House Dem Proposes Vote Forcing Release Of Gaetz Report

By Hailey Konnath

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten on Wednesday introduced a resolution that would require the House of Representatives to vote on whether the House Ethics Committee must release its report on the allegations against former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a proposal unveiled the same day the ethics committee failed to reach a consensus.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fed. Judges Still Seek New Bench Seats Amid Dems' Loss

By Courtney Bublé

The Federal Judges Association is urging the House to pass the bipartisan bill that would expand the federal courts in order to meet rising caseloads, even as the Biden administration appears to be cooling on the idea it once supported.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. Judicial Nominee Asked About Race, Parenting Writings

By Courtney Bublé

A California judicial nominee's previous writing about the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked a national reckoning on race, was the subject of debate during a Senate nomination hearing on Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Washington State, DC District Court Picks Secure Seats

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Wednesday voted 50-48 to confirm Washington Court of Appeals Judge Rebecca L. Pennell to the Eastern District of Washington and 50-49 to confirm Amir Ali, former president and executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center and co-director of the Criminal Justice Appellate Clinic at Harvard Law School, to the District of Columbia.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Girardi Pushes For New Trial Over Competency Claims

By Cara Salvatore

Counsel for Tom Girardi told a federal judge the disbarred attorney is plainly mentally incompetent and deserves a new trial over charges he defrauded clients of $15 million worth of settlement money.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »